


A Season With A Precious Reason

by kira892



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, everyone is happy and there's barely any angst, just lots of fluff and embarassing fluff, original character: Hunk and Lance's baby boy, post vld au, shiro in maximum dad mode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 06:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9060958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kira892/pseuds/kira892
Summary: “He’s just a baby.” He says gently. Corey is standing on his thighs now, tiny hands patting curiously along Keith’s face. His fingertips drag back and forth over the fine points of day old stubble, feeling the bristles with slack-jawed fascination. “He’s. a. Baby” Keith shoots back, leaning away as Corey tries to stick his fingers in his mouth. Considering how simple they are, he would’ve assumed that babies are infinitely easier to deal with than grown ups but. They’re really, really not. Shiro (and everyone else for that matter actually) thinks it’s hilarious that he’s faced down monsters that laid waste to hundreds of galaxies but couldn’t spend two minutes alone with a human baby.  Hunk and Lance go on a 5 day trip to Cuba and leave their toddler with Shiro and Keith.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a pre-holiday fic that i intended to post two days ago but hey, better late than never right?

He wakes up because their bed feels a little empty. Keith isn’t quite sure how his body always knows when Shiro isn’t next to him anymore. He’s not nearly as light of a sleeper.  Shiro wakes up when he so much as twitches but nonetheless, Keith is as attuned to Shiro’s presence or lack thereof in their bed as Shiro is to his. He cracks his eyes open, squinting blearily when they instinctively try to snap shut again. Through the blurry haze of sleep, he makes out the glowing face of the alarm clock by their bed and frowns at the display that spells out “way too early” in neon red numbers.

He drags a hand through the empty space next to him as he stretches, legs curling and spine arching. When he’s done, he shifts on his back and stretches again, this time spreading out like a star fish, fingers stretching and toes pointing. Keith lets his limbs fall on the mattress with a satisfying “thump” and blinks once, hard, finally starting to feel awake.

He stares at the ceiling, letting reality trickle in one sense at a time.  Keith luxuriates in the sensations as they come; the warmth of the sheets around him, the softness of the orange snow light bleeding in through their pale curtains, the faint sound of music drifting in from the hall.

Keith turns his head and notices the door to their room. It’s been left slightly ajar, just enough for him to make out where the reach of light from their living room lamp ends, blending seamlessly into darkness just at the edge of the door frame.  Keith watches it for a few seconds, letting the soft music wash over his ears before slowly getting out of bed. He tries to be quiet as he leaves their room and pads down the hall, tucking his hands into the crooks of his elbows to ward off the slight chill permeating the rest of the house.  

He emerges into the living room to find the Christmas lights they had unplugged just a couple of hours ago alight once more, blinking in predetermined patterns; red, blues, greens and yellows dancing softly on the walls. Shiro is sitting at the base of the tree, which has been stripped almost completely free of ornaments. They lay in a neat little pile by Shiro’s knee and Keith watches as he reaches for one and hands it over to a very small someone who looks over just as Keith comes to a stop a couple of feet away.

Shiro notices and looks over his shoulder at him too, smiling softly when he sees Keith.

“Hey.”

“What are you guys doing?” Keith asks, snatching the hoodie that Shiro left draped over the back of the couch before flopping down on it. He uses the hoodie, which is one of Shiro’s and definitely big enough, as a makeshift blanket, tucking his knees against his chest to fit as much of himself under it as possible.

Shiro scoots backwards, until his back hits the couch and reaches over to drag the pile of ornaments over to his new position. Keith drops one leg and Shiro shifts just a little bit closer, wrapping one arm around Keith’s knee and leaning his head against it.

“Corey couldn’t sleep.”

Shiro replies and they both watch as their very small guest waddles over to the tree and tries a couple of times to hang the striped red and green bauble that Shiro has just handed to him on a branch that was already overcrowded with two other baubles.  

Keith hums, reaching down to gently rake his fingers across Shiro’s scalp.

“Corey or you?”

Shiro chuckles, turning his head to press a kiss to Keith’s knee through the fabric of his pyjama pants.

“Corey. That was one time and besides, Hunk still wakes him up in the middle of the night just because he misses him. I’m sure Corey is used to it.”

Done with his task, Corey turns away from the tree and hobbles back over to Shiro, big brown eyes expectant. They look a lot like Hunk’s who often insists that he got them from him even though Corey only shares genetic traits with Lance.

“Good job,” Shiro praises, mussing up the mop of curly brown hair on his head affectionately with his flesh hand. Corey beams at him, all bare gums and dimples, round little cheeks bunching up under a smile that’s one hundred percent McClain. Shiro hands him another ornament with a murmured encouragement and watches silently as Corey moves toward the tree again.

Keith catches sight of Shiro’s laptop open on the coffee table and recognizes the album art displayed on the screen as the Star Wars lullabies album that Hunk had sent them among many other things before he and Lance left for their 5-day trip to Cuba. The song that he’d heard from all the way in their room is Princess Leia’s theme.

Inevitably, he thinks of Allura and spares a thought to wonder if she and Coran are planning to visit for the holidays. Coran would definitely want to, he’s yet to miss a year since Corey’s been born. He loves his namesake as much as they all knew he would and none of them have the heart to put a cap on all the effort and attention the aging Altean lavishes on his alien godson. Coran never married or had any children of his own so it wasn’t like all the paternal enthusiasm he’s built up over the years of living with all of them is going anywhere.

Corey doesn’t quite manage to hang the glittering star that Shiro handed him. The thin gold string slips off the plastic pine needles it was barely clinging to and the star drops before luckily managing to snag on some other needles clustered under it. Corey starts to reach for it but Shiro calls out to him.

“It’s okay buddy, you got it. Come here, you want to hang this?” he asks, holding up the plastic red lion that Pidge sent them at the beginning of the month as part of a set that she had custom 3d printed.

Corey gurgles and toddles over to Shiro obediently. Keith leans back on the couch, eyes closing. He continues to gently scratch at Shiro’s head, feeling oddly more relaxed than Shiro probably does. It isn’t hard, especially with the soft couch cushions beneath him and Shiro’s big, warm hand still wrapped around his knee.

Corey takes the lion from Shiro and rolls it around in his hands, kneading and squeezing,  as if testing to see if it would give, probably confused about the different shape and texture of the weird not bauble that he’s holding. Without warning, he holds it back out to Shiro who smiles and patiently takes it back. “Actually, I don’t think Keith’s seen this yet. Do you want to show it to him?” he says, taking Corey’s hand in his and dropping the lion back into his palm.

Keith’s eyes snap open and he sits up a little straighter as Corey’s bright brown eyes turn to him.

Shiro unwraps his arm from Keith’s leg and grabs hold of his wrist, tugging it gently down, towards Corey as if gently coaxing a shy child to pet a harmless puppy. The situation is hilariously, completely backward but considering his lineage, Coran McClain-Garett was born to like people and Keith, perhaps unsurprisingly, is even more inept at dealing with tiny human beings than he is with big ones.

“Uhm, thanks.” he says stiffly, taking the red lion from Corey’s outstretched hand. Completely oblivious to his awkwardness and driven by mysterious baby instincts that Keith would never understand, Corey’s response to that is to first plant his hands on Keith’s knee and then begin trying to climb into his lap.

Keith immediately lowers his other leg to the floor and flounders around helplessly, unsure if he should be helping Corey settle safely on his lap or lifting him away.

In his sudden panic, he’d completely forgotten that Shiro is still sitting at his feet and startles a little when he hears a soft chuckle. He meets Shiro’s amused gray gaze with a glare.

“He’s just a baby.” He says gently.

Corey is standing on his thighs now, tiny hands patting curiously along Keith’s face. His fingertips drag back and forth over the fine points of day old stubble, feeling the bristles with slack-jawed fascination.

“He’s a _baby_ ” Keith shoots back, leaning away as Corey tries to stick his fingers in his mouth.

Considering how simple they are, he would’ve assumed that babies are infinitely easier to deal with than grown ups but. They’re really, really not. Shiro (and everyone else for that matter actually) thinks it’s hilarious that he’s faced down monsters that laid waste to hundreds of galaxies but couldn’t spend two minutes alone with a human baby.

Shiro watches him struggle with that infuriating, amused smile on his face for a few more seconds before hauling himself up on the couch next to Keith and effortlessly plucking Corey out of his lap. He lifts him to his face to playfully nuzzle at his belly, making Corey burst into high pitched giggles, hands coming to rest on Shiro’s temples. Shiro does it again, laughing when Corey plants his feet against his collarbones and tries to push him away while still giggling.  He relents after giving Corey’s belly one last nuzzle and presses a smacking kiss to the cheek as he lowers him to sit sideways on his lap.

Corey’s eye catches Shiro’s prosthetic as soon as he’s situated and like most things shiny, it immediately arrests his attention. He grabs at it and Shiro lets him, allowing Corey to move it as he pleases, playfully wiggling his fingers when Corey reaches for his hand, entranced by the many bendy joints and crevices on it. Corey wraps one tiny hand around Shiro’s thumb and the other around his ring finger.

Keith makes a face as Corey examines Shiro’s thumb for two seconds before sticking it into his mouth. Hunk and Pidge personally tested Shiro’s arm as soon as Corey entered the oral stage and they’ve confirmed that unless Shiro actively tries to kill him with it, the lethal alien weapon attached to his shoulder is actually completely harmless. Galra resources are child friendly. Who knew?

“How long have you two been awake?”

Keith asks, reaching over and gently prying Shiro’s thumb out of Corey’s mouth. Drops of spit cascade down it, pooling into the space between Shiro’s thumb and his palm before dripping onto Shiro’s pant leg. It confuses him how such a tiny mouth can produce this much spit. The separation lasts for about two seconds before Corey tugs Shiro’s hand close again and gnaws on his index finger instead. Keith huffs quietly to himself and gives up, reaching over to idly play with the curly strands of hair hanging just a bit too close to Corey’s eyes. He’s pretty sure taking him for his bi-monthly haircut is on the list of things that Hunk has asked them to do. Maybe they’ll do that tomorrow.

Shiro cranes his neck to look over at the clock above the stove and shrugs. “Little under an hour.  I did try to put him back to bed for a little while but,”

Shiro trails off, looking down at Corey with an affectionately resigned expression. He gently pulls his hand away and Keith kicks him when he tries to wipe baby spit on his arm. Shiro wipes it off the hoodie Keith is using as a blanket instead.

“Way too many late nights with Pidge I think.” Keith muses, offering Corey a small smile when he looks up at him curiously.  Corey squeals and grins, letting go of Shiro to clap his hands together. Keith rolls with it, smiling just a tad bigger and offering Corey the sleeve of Shiro’s hoodie to play with.

Shiro hums in agreement. “She has to stop doing that.”

Keith looks away from Corey to slowly raise his eyebrows at Shiro in challenge.  “You say as we sit here, letting him stay up a couple of hours to sunrise.”

Shiro laughs at that, tossing an arm over the back of the couch. He curls his palm around the back of Keith’s neck, thumb rubbing at the soft skin at the edge of his jaw.  

“Touché”

Shiro leans his head back against the couch with a soft groan and Keith lets his eyes drift over to their tree, mind wandering as a comfortable silence descends upon them. When Shiro yawns, he catches it. Inevitably, it passes to Corey too and they both laugh as his entire body sways with the force of it, tipping a bit too much and almost falling over before Shiro steadies him with a hand to his back. Corey looks up at him and babbles a string of nonsensical noises that Shiro parrots back to him in a perfectly normal tone, as if he’s speaking actual words.

Keith watches them interact; the ease with which Shiro handles Corey, the genuine pleasure they both feel just being in each other’s presence. To the surprise of absolutely no one; Shiro is really good with children and Keith halts that thought before the inevitable red marker highlights it with three bold strokes and a big circle, glaring him down with enough implication to drown a skyscraper.

He glances at the clock again. They have a little less than an hour before sunrise.

“I’m gonna go make coffee. Do you want one?” He asks.

================================

The next time he wakes it’s another ludicrous hour, on the opposite side of midnight. They’d taken Corey back to their bed, an hour or two after the light from the windows shifted from muted orange to pale yellow. At that point Corey had been tired enough to be practically asleep but still have enough energy to be extremely cranky and he’d refused to be separated from Shiro when they tried to put him down in the collapsible cradle that Hunk and Lance left with them. Keith had fallen asleep with the both of them tucked up against Shiro who sat with his back against the headboard and Keith’s arm thrown across his lap, face nuzzled into his hip.

His prosthetic had been carding through Keith’s hair while his other arm cradled Corey securely to his chest, fingers tapping a gentle rhythm against his leg as he dozed off.

When Keith awoke, Shiro’s lying down on his side, facing him and Corey is in danger of getting crushed between the two of them, tucked tightly between Shiro’s chest and his. Keith could feel the tips of his curls brushing his collarbones, a little ball of warmth against his front, one hand in his mouth and the other clutching a small handful of Shiro’s shirt. He and Shiro were both softly snoring.

Keith extricates himself with the kind of stealth one would reserve for slipping past alarm lasers and tucks the blanket around both Shiro and Corey before heading silently to the kitchen to get a very late breakfast going.

He consults the list Hunk left twice to see what Corey usually eats for breakfast because during the few times that Corey has been present at their table in the morning, Shiro’s been the one to make sure he’s fed properly.  He makes eggs, bacon and french toast and is in the middle of slicing some fruits up into manageable, baby sized pieces when Shiro emerges from their room.

He walks straight up to Keith, dropping his face into the crook of his neck with a muffled groan. His hands settle on his hips and Keith leans back against him until Shiro moves even closer and wraps his arms around his waist.  

“How did we used to do this?” Shiro mutters, sleepily nuzzling against Keith’s neck like it’s  his pillow.

A quick glance at the clock  tells Keith that not counting the amount of sleep they got before Corey woke up, he at least got about as much sleep as he got in space during a good day when Shiro and Allura are both feeling merciful and let them use up what little free time they have on something other than training or strategizing.

“You’re getting old.” he says simply.  Shiro groans loudly into his neck and Keith smiles, tilting his head into the contact when Shiro lifts his head and presses a kiss into his hair. He stays there and Keith lets him, planting his feet to steady them both when Shiro leans more of his weight onto him. His only response when asked if he wants some fruit too is a sleepy, non-committal grunt. Keith  sets aside some bigger apple slices for him anyway, still smiling as he relaxes into Shiro’s big, warm presence at his back, his slow, relaxed exhales against his skin, happier than he’d ever admit that Shiro is finally learning to let himself be tired and dopey after an exhausting night.

Shiro stays glued to him as he sets the table, shuffling across the tiles whenever Keith has to move, eyes half open and chin tucked into the crook of his neck. When they hear the inevitable crying coming from their room, Shiro  sighs softly and untangles himself from Keith with a murmured “I got it.”

Keith watches him go. He wants to tell Shiro “It’s only two more days” and he almost does but something tells him not to. He watches Shiro walk into their room in silence, staring at the open door as he listens to Shiro murmuring soothingly at Corey. He emerges a minute later with the teary-eyed baby in his arm. He’s holding Corey’s hand in his free one, thumb rubbing over the dimples where knuckles would eventually grow in. He doesn’t look tired anymore, completely attentive and focused on the very reason he was barely functioning just two minutes ago as he murmurs soothingly at him

“He was on the floor but he’s okay, I don’t think he rolled off and got hurt. Probably just upset that he was alone.”  he tells Keith, bouncing Corey gently when he sniffles and wraps an arm around Shiro’s neck.

“Just like your daddies aren’t you?” Shiro says, letting go of Corey’s hand to rub his back.

Keith keeps his silence. If anyone is going to be relieved to have the baby off their hands, it’s not Shiro.

He finishes setting the table as Shiro settles Corey into his high chair, giving him a comforting pat on the head as he sets pre sliced toast and a saucer of bite sized fruits in front of him.

They discuss their day plans as they eat, trying to decide whether or not they should still leave the house at all considering how far into the day the rest of the world already is over bites of food while Corey mostly just makes a mess of his, more interested in playing than eating.

In the end they decide they’ll take Corey out to get his hair trimmed after they’re done eating, go grocery shopping and then go right back home. They finish all of their food and Corey consumes only about half of his. Shiro eats the rest, making a game out of it and encouraging Corey to throw the small pieces into his mouth while Keith puts the dishes in the sink.

“You better pick that up.” He says when he turns just in time to see  Corey throw a grape and hit Shiro in the chest where it bounces off and lands somewhere under the table.

Shiro smiles at him sheepishly and salutes. The gold band around his ring finger winks at Keith as it catches the light and subconsciously, Keith’s thumb bends to touch the matching one on his.

Shiro obediently picks up the fallen grape and the few other bits and pieces that fell to the floor during his and Corey’s game of catch and gives Corey a playful “boop” on the nose, complete with sound effect before he goes and throws it in the trash. The past two days have been more or less like this and this is not the first time they’ve had to watch Corey for days at a time but still, just for a second it all feels extremely surreal.  He and Shiro had barely just gotten used to the peaceful domesticity of their current lives and having a baby thrown in the mix, hitting all of Shiro’s dad buttons every second is just-

“-eith.”

Keith blinks and finds that Shiro is now standing right in front of him with Corey in his arms.

“You okay?”

He nods. “Yeah. I just-”

“ _Spaced_ out?”

Keith pauses to stare blankly at Shiro’s wide grin, unimpressed. He’s fairly certain that had he not been holding a baby, Shiro would’ve done finger guns too. Keith lets the judgemental silence go on until Shiro chuckles and shrugs. “Sorry. It’s the baby. It’s Lance’s baby at that. Triggers the worst dad jokes.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” Keith says dryly, taking a step forward and tentatively holding his hands out Corey. He doesn’t let his relief show when Corey easily leans into his space and lets Keith take him from Shiro.

“Go get dressed you dork.”

Shiro thankfully dresses and freshens up fairly quick and Corey is more than happy to be sat down in front of morning cartoons with nothing more than a few toy blocks and his favorite stuffed dinosaur. He ignores Keith the whole time, attention divided between Spongebob reruns and playing.

They trade off when Shiro emerges into the living room in a plain black sweater and jeans and by the time Keith was done brushing his teeth, washing his face and changing into warmer clothes Shiro is back in their room with Corey, trying to wrestle the little boy into a pair of snow pants.

“Would he really be needing those?” Keith asks, taking a step back into the bathroom as Corey runs past him in just a knitted sweater, socks and a fresh new diaper, giggling and shrieking. Shiro is hot on his heels, arms outstretched and knees bent, the dark blue snow pants clutched in his hand. Corey is still pretty new to the whole standing and walking thing and three quick toddles of his little legs is easily one slow step of Shiro’s so he knows the chasing is entirely for Corey’s entertainment.

“It’s pretty cold out!” Shiro yells over Corey’s shrieks as he grabs hold of him and tosses him over his shoulder, patting his bum playfully. “Alright, pants time for you.”

Thankfully, Corey doesn’t cause any more trouble after the pants come on and the suspenders are fastened securely on his shoulders.  In about 5 minutes, all three of them are sufficiently bundled up to face the cold and are trudging out the door and into the car. They take Shiro’s CR-V  even though it takes longer to warm up because the car seat was already there and Shiro’s snow tires are already on. It’s nearing rush hour by the time they get on the main roads but thankfully the barber shop isn’t too far off and they manage to get there just before the roads get clogged.

They get Corey’s hair cut and then head to a nearby Starbucks after where Shiro orders two plain coffees for them both and a babyccino for Corey.

“How do you even know what that is?” Keith asks when the Barista doesn’t so much as bat an eye at the order and just asks if that would be everything.

“It’s on the list of food Corey likes, under ‘fastfood’. I thought Hunk was joking but-”

Then the girl taking order notices the ring on Shiro’s left hand and Shiro never finishes telling Keith the rest of his story because the following exchange happens.

‘Your baby is so cute!’

‘Ahaha, thank you.’

‘Your wife must be gorgeous.’

‘Umm. He’s not actually my baby, he’s my friend’s-’

And Keith walks off to the end of the counter where they call out your name to hand you your drinks, focusing on the sounds of the coffee shop to drown out Shiro and the barista talking, unwilling to be a part of that conversation. He pulls his phone out and sends a message to Hunk to let him know that they took Corey for his haircut while Shiro continues to talk with the now flustered Barista. Keith can hear her apologizing and doesn’t want to imagine the awkward exchange that must have happened while he wasn’t paying attention. He drums his fingers against his phone, fighting down the spike of irritation he feels as he watches the three dots appear under his message, telling him that Hunk saw it and is typing up a reply. His wedding ring clacks faintly against his phone case and Keith sighs through his nose, watching from the corner of his eye as Shiro says one last thing to the barista and accepts his change before turning and making his way over to him.

“Hey. Sorry about that,” Shiro begins but Keith cuts him off.

“Why? It’s not your fault people are stupid.”

Shiro’s lips part and he gets that look that they’ve all seen as many times as there are stars in the sky, right when he’s about to gently chide them about something. Keith has to tamp down another wave of uncontrolled anger at it, feeling like a sulky child.

“They’re not stupid Keith,” Keith says before he can stop himself, dropping his voice down a few octaves to mimic Shiro’s as best as he can.

Shiro snaps his mouth shut, eyebrows drawing down, looking a little miffed. He sighs softly, adjusting Corey in his arms. He watches Keith for a moment still with that gently disapproving expression on his face. Keith can almost read everything he wants to say scrolling across his forehead and he stares right back, unflinching and stubbornly quiet.

“But it’s not right to assume, I know. She said sorry, most people do. They’re learning.” Shiro says carefully.

Keith doesn’t argue. It isn’t the first time they’ve had this conversation and others like it and it won’t be the last. His phone pings and he puts all of his attention into typing out a reply to Hunk’s request for pictures.

It’s only been a year and a half. They’ll get used to this.

They sit down at a table to drink their coffee and take snaps of Corey to send to Hunk and Lance after the latter, evidently having heard from his husband that their baby boy just got a haircut, started blowing up Keith’s phone with messages demanding pictures.  Shiro obliges, taking enough to fill up an entire album and sending it on multiple platforms, and then taking even more when Pidge who always carries at least three devices connected to the internet on her person all the time, sees one of the pictures Shiro posts online and asks for some too.

Shiro goes a little crazy with snapchat after Lance asks for snaps of Corey with the reindeer filter to show to his relatives in Cuba, trying out every filter on his phone after taking a few with the reindeer and then taking selfies with Corey in addition to the pictures he’s sending to the rest of the paladins.

He sends a snap of himself leaning his head against Corey’s shoulder with the caption “Barista thought I was his dad” on it and Keith lets him take a selfie of the three of them captioned “We’re not giving him back.”

It’s snowing when they leave Starbucks and it doesn’t take long before it turns out into a small storm. They pass by two cars stuck in snowbanks a mere 10 minutes into getting back on the road and prudently make the decision to get their groceries at a different location than their usual one, opting to go to a Walmart neither of them had ever been to before but is closer to their way home than the other place.

Grocery shopping goes well. Except it totally doesn’t. Walmart proves to be an alternate dimension that has it’s own rules about time and space. They get lost three times just trying to find the dairy aisle and spend a good 15 minutes trying to go back to a shelf that had one brand of baby formula that was inexplicably separated some 4 aisles from the rest of its brethren after misremembering the kind that Hunk said Corey prefered.

They somehow make it out of the experience in one piece, walking through the automatic doors with a cart full of bags and every item on their list crossed out.

“The next time we have a chat with Allura,” Keith says as they load up the groceries in the trunk. “We should suggest sending Altean cadets to Walmart to test their navigational skills. Flying to the edge of the universe and back was easier than this.”

Shiro laughs,  breaths coming out in thick puffs of smoke as he hefts 5 heavy bags into the trunk in one go. His hair and coat are already dusted white and accumulating more by the second as the snow falls relentlessly from the sky. He lifts Corey out of the shopping cart after the last bag is loaded and playfully places  him in the trunk with the rest of their stuff.

“Okay, all done!” Shiro  proclaims cheerfully, dusting his hands.

Not understanding the joke but finding being in the back of the car humorous anyway, Corey laughs and reaches for Shiro who pretends to close the hood only to quickly pop it back up and make faces at him. He does it two more times and Keith watches with a small smile, tucking his hands in his pockets.

Corey is still giggling when Shiro finally  lifts him out of the trunk, gums completely visible behind the huge stretch of his grin. Keith feels the corners of his own mouth twitch further upwards when Shiro gives Corey’s cheek a long, noisy peck, gently squishing Corey’s face against his.

“Careful there, at this rate, you might end up actually not giving him back.” Keith comments as he shuts the hood with a sound thump.

“Don’t worry I will. Corey’s great but I have a gorgeous wife to keep me happy.” Shiro jokes as they walk around the side of the car to get in.  He stops to strap Corey into the car seat and Keith smacks the back of his head as he walks by on his way to his own door.

============================

The next morning brings with it more snow and even lower temperatures. Shiro wakes when he feels the mattress dip as Keith pushes himself up on an elbow and peers over his shoulder at their window. He cracks his eyes open and gazes blearily past the part in their curtains, at the snow still going strong. It had slowed down significantly by the time they pulled into their driveway but it must have picked up again overnight and is now coming down thicker than it was the day before.

Keith flops back onto their bed with a loud, sleepy grunt. He idles for only a second or two before silently getting up. Shiro lifts his head a little and watches him walk into the bathroom, nudging the door shut with his foot. He rests his head back on the pillow, eyes closing as he hears the sound of running water.

Keith doesn’t come back to bed, instead he marches straight into their closet. Shiro listens to the scratchy rustling of his winter coat as he slips it on and doesn’t move when he feels Keith put a knee back on their bed.

“I’m going to go shovel the driveway.” Keith murmurs, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek. Shiro hums in response and before he could do anything else, Keith is gone.

He drifts in and out of sleep, the sounds of the heater and the faint scraping of plastic against concrete outside simultaneously pulling him to consciousness and lulling him back to sleep. He doesn’t know how long it takes Keith to clear the driveway, only that he’s asleep again when he finishes, lying on his stomach with his hands shoved under his pillow. He jerks awake when Keith unceremoniously flops sideways on top of him, winter coat still on.

“I hate snow.”

Shiro chuckles; a rough choppy noise, voice scratchy with sleep. With a soft grunt, he turns on his side.  Keith shifts a little but otherwise doesn’t budge when Shiro shifts under him to lie on his back, throwing his arms over Keith and clasping his hands together on top of his back. They stay like that for about a minute, content to just lay with each other. Shiro moves first. He wakes himself up with a few hard blinks and slowly sits up, rolling Keith off of his stomach and down onto his side on his lap. Keith curls up against him in response, tucking himself around Shiro’s front like a sleepy cat.

He strokes the palm of his flesh hand down Keith’s side and Keith twists a little to look at him. His cheeks and the tip of his nose are still flushed pink from the cold, hair a tangled mess. He’s kept it long throughout the years and he clearly didn’t even bother with it after rolling out of bed. Shiro slips a finger through a snarl of dark hair resting against his forehead, tugging gently until it comes loose.

He doesn’t notice Keith watching him until Keith reaches up to slide his fingers through his, pulling Shiro’s hand away from his hair and bringing it down to his mouth. Shiro meets his gaze as Keith lightly touches  his mouth against it, not quite a kiss but makes Shiro’s chest ache in the best way nonetheless.

He smiles down at his husband and watches Keith’s eyes slide shut, the muffled sound of his sigh against Shiro’s Galra hand soft and sweet.  

“Are we visiting your mom today?” Keith asks, keeping his eyes closed.

“Yup. She wants us over for lunch. Friend at work gave her a cooking book as an early christmas present and she’s trying out a whole bunch of recipes” Shiro murmurs, lightly brushing some hair away from Keith’s face with his other hand.  

“Aren’t we seeing her again on the 25th though?” Keith asks against Shiro’s fingers, opening one eye to peer up at him.

“She’ll disown us if we don’t show.”

Keith makes a face and Shiro pokes his forehead playfully. “We’ll bring Corey, she won’t bug us about grandkids this time.”

“That’ll make her bug us about grandkids even more.” Keith grumbles, swatting half heartedly at Shiro’s hand when he tries to poke him again.

There’s a scar on the side of Keith’s nose, hair thin and just a shade or two paler than the rest of his skin, practically invisible from a distance. Healing pods worked wonders with injuries, no matter how dire they were and the use of them have left Keith, Hunk and Pidge relatively scar free. Shiro remembers where this one came from; the kind of wound that was so deep, the healing pods couldn’t erase it completely. A direct hit to the face cracked Keith’s visor in half and a piece of Altean glass lodged itself about half an inch into his skull, narrowly missing his eye.

Shiro lightly runs a finger over it and then playfully flicks at Keith’s nose, basking in the simplicity of the moment, still not quite used to the fact that he gets to have this and gets to keep it for the rest of his life.

“You have that look on your face.” Keith murmurs.

“What look?” Shiro asks, already having a pretty good idea just from the way his own voice sounded.

“You’re thinking something grossly sappy.”  

He grins, not denying it. “I love you a whole lot, that’s all.”

What he can see of Keith’s face barely changes and he couldn’t feel Keith’s smile against his hand but he knows it’s there.

Keith untangles his fingers from Shiro’s and hides his face behind his palm with a short grunt.

“Gross.”

Shiro shakes his head, grin still in place, amused by the silliness he would’ve given anything to see in Keith at 18 but instead arrived at 26, after long term exposure to him and the rest of the paladins.

“Well, you married this grossness so you must be a little gross too.”

Keith snorts but lets Shiro pull his hand away from his face anyway and looks him in the eye when he shrugs one shoulder and says “Maybe a little bit.”

===================================

They drop by the mall on their way to Shiro’s mom’s to pick up  a bunch of gifts for some relatives who Shiro has been informed are only dropping by today and wouldn’t be able to stick around for the holidays.  Keith goes just a little bit paler when Shiro drags them to the toy store to grab a handful of toys, none of which he asks to be gift wrapped, with the simple statement  “They’d be opened immediately, it’s okay.”

He doesn’t say anything but Shiro gives him an apologetic smile anyway as the cashier bags up the toys. Keith looks at Corey who he was carrying in his arms, his tiny body tilted a bit forward, curious about the toys being stowed away but otherwise well behaved and sighs softly through his nose.

Keith only speaks up when the amount of bags hanging from Shiro’s arms climb to 5, interrupting when Shiro tells him they have to head to Lush to buy something else for a teenage niece.

“Exactly how many people are coming to this thing?”

Shiro looks up, mentally counting. “I’m not sure.” he lies

Keith has gotten better about hiding his emotions when he thinks he ought to over the years but still, Shiro can see the trepidation lingering beneath the careful blankness of his expression.

“A lot?” he admits, feeling a bit bad. Keith has come to spend Christmas with his family plenty of times, even before he was officially part of the family, way back in their Garrison days but most of the time it’s just been his mom and one or two of Shiro’s aunts or uncles and some cousins. He can count on one hand the amount of times Keith has spent time around the extended brood without even having to use all of his fingers.

Keith looks thoughtful at that. “As long as it’s not as crowded as our wedding, it’s fine.”

Shiro knows that it only takes one specific relative or two and a few bottles of wine for any Shirogane family gathering to be louder and more interesting than their wedding reception had been but decidedly decides not to mention it.

“Can’t possibly be any worse than a normal lunch with the McClain’s.” Keith continues, making a face.

Shiro laughs, nudging Keith with his elbow. “Watch it, you’re holding a McClain. But yes, exactly.”

Keith doesn’t follow him into the last store on Shiro’s list, an overcrowded bookstore where the heating is turned up way too high. He takes one step over the threshold, feels the harsh change in temperature, hears at least 4 crying children and steps right back out, telling Shiro he and Corey are going to wait outside.

When he emerges many, many minutes later Keith isn’t right by the door anymore but is a couple of feet away, standing a decent distance between the bookstore and the brightly decorated space in the middle of the floor; a cluster of giant presents topped with classic big bows and fake pine trees done up in dozens of twinkling white lights. At the center of it is a setup of studio lights, a camera and an oversized velvet armchair where a hired actor with a white beard and a jumpsuit that matches the chair sits, getting picture after picture taken with children of various ages.

Keith doesn’t immediately turn to him when Shiro walks over and comes to a stop by his side, watching mall Santa thoughtfully.

“We should get our picture taken.” he says.

Shiro blinks, brows furrowing in confusion. He’s about to ask why and just barely stops the word from coming out of his mouth. He looks over at mall Santa too and the over enthusiastic mother standing by his side, coaxing her children to smile as big a smile as the one she’s aiming at the camera like it’s a competition she’s hellbent on winning.

“Lance is going to have a fit.”

Shiro says, eyebrows rising. Keith turns to him then and with a smirk that takes him back almost a decade says. “Mmmhmm.”

They end up being an hour late and the house is already bustling by the time they get there. Shiro’s mom greets them at the door, chiding them for being late even as she envelopes each of them in a big hug.

“I was two seconds away from letting the kids eat your food.” she says as she kisses Shiro on the cheek.

“I could’ve lived with that. I kind of remember a warning about getting written out of the family will.” he says, kissing his mother’s cheek in turn and then giving her another one just because he’s happy to see her, right on the laugh lines that grow more pronounced at the corner of her eye when she chuckles and squeezes him tighter. She has to go up on her toes to do it even with his knees bent. She laughs, loud and bright when he scoops her up briefly and beams up at him with the affectionate smile that always made coming home for the holidays the highlight of his year all on its own when he sets her back down.

She turns the smile on Keith and Shiro watches it grow even softer as she takes his hand. “How are you darling?”

Keith clasps her tiny hand in his and smiles back. “I’m great.” he replies, knowing she won’t let him call her “Mrs. Shirogane” anymore but still not quite comfortable  calling her Mom.

“Oh and look at you!” she exclaims, clapping her hands and grinning at Corey. She coos at him in Japanese, the same sweet phrases that Shiro remembers from his childhood. Corey laughs around the pacifier that’s in his mouth and pretends to hide his face in Keith’s shirt, peeking playfully out at Shiro’s mom again after a second.

“Ohh you’re wonderful.” she says, giving Corey’s cheek a playful little pinch before ushering them all inside.

His mother’s house is relatively small; neat and cozy, big enough for one person to live in without being cramped and it’s definitely full today. All the little ones attack the bag of toys as soon as they’re told about it and Corey leaves Keith’s arms to go play with the rest of them.

There’s not nearly enough chairs at the table for everyone so they all remain empty and pushed against the table which had enough food on it to feed a small army. They eat on the couch with loaded plates balanced on their laps. Shiro’s mom sits between him and Keith and they catch up over bites of food, chatting with any family member who drifts by.

At some point, the kids end up crowded around the coffee table, playing an invented game with some baubles stolen from the christmas tree and  rubber bands. Shiro feeds Corey bites of food off his own plate whenever he comes close enough and it isn’t until he feeds him his third spoonful of peas does his Mom bring up the dreaded topic.

“You seem to be enjoying looking after Corey.”

“I guess so. He’s a good baby.”

Shiro  says, reaching out to steady said baby when he trips on his own feet and almost falls over sideways.  Corey babbles, slapping his palms on the coffee table. He points at an abandoned mug that someone left when he sees it and stretches his arms towards it, hands opening and closing. He whines, jumping up and down when he notices he isn’t getting any closer to it and Shiro sets his plate down on the table, scooping Corey up in one arm and the mug with the other. He takes a peek and a small sip of what’s inside just to make sure there’s no alcohol in it and sits back down, settling Corey on his leg when he determines that its only plain hot chocolate in the mug.

Corey holds the mug with both hands when Shiro brings it close to his mouth but he doesn’t let go of it, helping Corey tilt it to drink, knowing the mug might be a bit too heavy for him to hold on his own.

“You’re very good with him. You’ve always been with kids. Are Lance and Hunk coming back home before Christmas?”

“Yeah, they’re flying back tomorrow.”

A sympathetic tut. “Cutting it a bit close, those poor boys will be exhausted by the time they get here. How long have they been married again?”

Shiro keeps his sigh to himself. Oh boy, here we go.

“About a year.”

“Hmm. Didn’t think it was too early to have kids did they?” his mom asks casually.

“No, I guess not.”

She doesn’t continue but Shiro understands and this time he actually sighs at the pointed look she’s giving him. She was married at 22 and had him at 23 and never regretted it. She also thought she’d lost him for a good couple of years, her only child gone without even a body to bury just when he barely passed his teens so he understands, he really does. He hasn’t had that talk with her yet, hasn’t gone into detail about the many reasons why he doesn’t feel ready to have one.  And it’s not that he doesn’t _want_ children of his own, but-

Keith shifts uncomfortably next to him but stays silent, taking the mug away from Corey and him when Corey pushes it away just a little. He takes a slow sip, obviously trying to avoid talking.

It’s not just his decision to make and he’s definitely not the only one having a tough time making that call, even if he hasn’t dared to bring the subject up with Keith yet.

He shoots his mom a pleading look and takes in a breath to say something but before he can, to his surprise, Keith pipes up.

“Takashi would love to have babies but he doesn’t have child bearing hips.”

He looks like he can’t quite believe he said what he just did either and for a solid tick, no one says anything, surprised.

Then Shiro’s Mom cracks up. She throws her head back and downright guffaws, the kind of delighted, unrestrained laugh that Shiro inherited from her. It’s not exactly rare but it’s certainly a surprise that Keith is one of the people who can coax it out of the both of them.

“Well, he has the chest for nurturing a child though.” she says through some last few chortles, reaching over to pat Shiro’s right pec.

Shiro makes a face at her and leans away, scandalized. Keith still looks a little mortified at himself but he cracks a small smile and even laughs a little at his Mom’s antics.   

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry honey, but yours are bigger than mine ever were.”

Thankfully, the topic of children doesn’t come up again for the rest of their visit. They talk about work and friends, gifts and plans. Corey is predictably unhappy when the time  to leave his newfound playmates behind comes but eventually lets himself be bribed away from them with a giant candy cane he has no hope of finishing. They get sent home with a few tupperwares of food and an even bigger hug than the one they got upon arriving. Shiro’s mom bids them goodbye and they each give her a parting kiss on the cheek, promising her they’ll see her again on Christmas.  

The first 10 minutes of the drive home is silent, and anticipation roils in Shiro’s gut. He thinks of how he should break it, if he even should, dawdling long enough that Keith breaks the quiet first.

“I told you she’d ask.” he says. Shiro glances over at him. He has an elbow propped up against the window, chin cradled in his upturned palm. He’s staring out the window so Shiro doesn’t have a clue what kind of expression is on his face but he sounds perfectly calm, unconcerned almost. So he picks out one of the things he’s thought of to say and proceeds with less caution than he thought he would’ve had to.

“You did.” he says agreeably, nodding a little. Without taking his eyes off the road, he reaches over and bumps a fist against Keith’s arm. “Did you really have to insult my figure in front of my mother though?” he laughs.

Keith turns to look at him, the smile on his face crooked from a very weak attempt at suppressing it.

“Right before the holidays too.” Shiro tuts. “Do we have to go see a  therapist already honey?”

“Shut up.”

Shiro laughs. “Where did that even come from anyway?”

Keith reaches up to tuck some hair behind his ear and Shiro turns to look when he sees him tapping on something out of the corner of his eye. There’s something plugged in his ear, so unique in design that it takes him a second to recognize it as an earpiece. The thing has a tell-tale green shell and tells him all he needs to know. A light comes on near the centre of it and Shiro hears a faint static crackle. Then,

_"You guys are welcome. Don’t worry I wasn’t listening the whole time, just tuned in when Keith woke me up in the middle of a nap because he still doesn’t know how to talk to people."_

“Talk to me when you get in-laws Katie.” Keith says petulantly.

_"Never gonna happen Ninja Mullet"_

“Listening to other people’s conversations is illegal Pidge.” Shiro says by way of greeting.

_"But not when you’re doing it with just your ears or when the government does it? Mmyea okay. Oh and you know what else is illegal? infiltrating a secured area and abducting a detainee who crash landed from space.”_

He sighs and shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. “We’ll see you on Christmas.”

_"Yeah you will, peace out!"_

Keith sighs through his nose when the earpiece goes quiet. Shiro raises an eyebrow at him, now seeing the scene for what it was. He must’ve been talking to Pidge when he was drinking out of the mug.

“She likes kids. And she would have had more if she remarried.” he says, turning back to the road.

Keith hums noncommittally and goes right back to staring out the window. Shiro lapses back into silence, thinking that was the end of the conversation.

“You like kids.”

Shiro hesitates. “Yeah, I do.”

“Do...you, want your own?”

Shiro chuckles. “Well, I think I should ask my husband what he thinks first.”

Keith sighs through his nose. He drops his hands on his lap and turns his head to look straight out at the windshield.   “Okay, let me rephrase that, do you want us to have kids?”

“It’s still early, we have time to think about it.”

“That’s not what I asked though, is it?”

They come to a red light and Shiro smiles a little to himself at the irony, cornered  by the color in more ways than one. He taps his fingers against the steering wheel, still not looking at Keith.

“I think so. Eventually.” He glances at Corey in the rearview mirror and couldn’t help the twitching of his lips when Corey sees him looking and grins, bouncing a little in his car seat, ever ecstatic to catch the attention of someone he likes.

He sees Keith twist a little in his seat to look at Corey too and turns his gaze to him when he hears Corey, who despite what Keith thinks, likes him just as much as Shiro, squeal in delight.

There’s a smile on Keith’s face, hesitant but genuine.

“What about you?”

The smile dims significantly when Keith turns to look at him. “I don’t know.”

It’s not an attempt to dodge the question and it’s not a little white lie to avoid hurting his feelings. Keith has never been anything but brutally honest, especially with him and Shiro knows that when he says he doesn’t know something, he means it.

“If I don’t, would that be okay?”

Keith told him the truth, not sparing his feelings, he owes him the same.

“Well, I would be a little bit bummed but yes, it would be okay.”

The light turns green and Shiro has to look away then. He smiles at the windshield. “I mean, I’d dodge  a bullet, what with my lack of child bearing hips and all.”  

Keith snorts but doesn’t say anything more. They lapse into a comfortable silence and when Keith’s hand lands on Shiro’s knee, palm up, he clasps it in his.

====================================

_“This is unbelievable. I trusted you. Hey! You! Yes you young man, I’m talking to all three of you!”_

Lance has been ranting for a solid 2 minutes already. Corey’s ignored him for almost all of it, his initial joy at seeing his dad’s face on the laptop screen stolen by the plate of mini soft cookies that Keith placed in front of him after sitting down to join in on the Skype call but at that, Corey turns to look at him again. Lance is glaring directly at the camera, one finger pointed accusingly at it.

“DADA!!” Corey cries from Shiro’s lap, grinning at the screen through a mouthful of cookie.

_“Oh yes it’s Dada! Yes it is!  And it’s Papa! we’re coming to get you baby, just another bunch of hours!”_

Hunk coos from beside Lance. He’s completely unconcerned about the mall Santa family portrait that they’d taken with Corey, had even laughed at it, thinking it was cute. It’s okay though, Lance is offended enough for both of them.

 _“Don’t try to cute your way out of this Cor-Cor, I see you, I see everything!”_ Lance says, pointing back and forth between his eyes and the camera with his index and middle fingers.

_“My own flesh and blood, cheating on me with my so called best friends, days away from Christmas, how could you? I am VERKLEMPT!”_

“ _Shiro’s kind of his honorary grandpa, so it’s not technically cheating_.” Pidge pipes up from her window.

She’s coding something while talking to them and has been stationary since they began, moving only to wave when her camera turned on. She pauses now to look at it with a raised eyebrow, fingers stilling on the keyboard. There’s a green blanket wrapped around her shoulders embedded with multi colored LEDs in the shape of christmas trees that blink merrily at odds with her exasperated expression.

Lance gasps, high-pitched and scandalized. “Incestuous affair!”

Pidge slaps a hand on her face. _“Is he drunk?_ ” She asks.

Hunk sighs. _“Sadly no._ ”

 _“Hey, I’m right here you guys. Can hear every word you’re saying about me_.”

“And we can hear you too, unfortunately.” Keith comments, picking a cookie from the plate that he set out for Shiro and himself and taking a bite out of it.

Lance pouts. _“I won’t forget this, Mullet.”_

Keith just leans over and without breaking eye contact with the webcam, kisses the crown of Corey’s head. Shiro watches the whole thing unfold in silence, infinitely amused at how adulthood and marriage and the solemn gratitude of countless lives across the universe indebted to them has failed to take pettiness away from Lance and Keith

“Are you sure you guys don’t want a ride from the airport? We can pick you up and drop you and Corey home, it’s no problem.” He asks, picking up a cookie and dunking it in his glass of eggnog.

 _“No it’s all good, our car is at the airport. We’ll call you if it won’t start though._ ” Hunk says. He and Lance are settled down for the night, both leaning against a headboard with only the bedside lamp and their laptop as sources of light. Hunk is in a t-shirt and Lance is in a tank top. Shiro envies them just a little. The temperature dropped unexpectedly from the fairly decent weather that greeted them when they left in the morning and the house had been chilly when they got home, still kind of is but at least he and Keith are huddled under a thick fleece blanket, cozy in their long sleeves and sweat pants.

 _“We’ll probably drop by around 2 or 3 you jerks. Is that cool?”_ Lance asks, leaning his head against Hunk’s shoulder who wraps an arm around him in response.

“Yeah that’s fine, we don’t have plans tomorrow.” Keith replies for them as Shiro bites into his cookie.

“ _Man, I can’t wait to go home._ ” Hunk says.

 _“Yeah._ ” Lance adds. _“My cousins are cool and all but I am exhausted.  I don’t even care about the snow, I want home. I miss my little traitor.”_ his eyes drop down to the bottom of the screen, presumably where Corey is on his and Shiro sets his cookie down to grasp Corey by the sides, lifting him to his feet so Lance and Hunk could see more of him.

“He misses you too.” he tells them.

 _“Hmph. Could’ve fooled me.”_ Lance gripes even as he leans a little towards his screen, a smile on his face. _“Hey Corey-”_ he begins and says something in spanish that Shiro doesn’t understand but Corey instantly recognizes. He giggles in delight, jumping up and down on his lap and clapping.

“Hi dada Hi dada Hi dada Hi dada hi dada!” he babbles excitedly, completely focused on Lance who is grinning now, still crooning at his son.

Everyone is smiling as they watch the exchange and Pidge, who has gone back to coding, stops again to put her hands to her cheeks and go _“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”_

_“What a sweetheart. Still can’t believe he came from Lance”_

_“Meet me in the pit Gunderson!”_

_“That meme is ancient, set a good example for your son, you loser.”_

The Skype call goes on for way longer than it probably should have considering there was a baby in their midst and said baby’s parents are booked for a pretty early flight  but they’re all happy as they say their goodnights, each one excited to see the others in person soon. Hunk informs them in no uncertain terms that a group hug is absolutely mandatory. There’s some eye rolling and complaints but no outright objections. He also legitimately tears up when saying goodbye to Corey who was busy slowly falling asleep against Shiro’s chest but manages a sweet little smile and a dopey wave at his parents as they bid him goodnight.

Shiro lingers in the guest room with Corey while Keith gets ready for bed. He doesn’t need the help but he rocks Corey to sleep anyway. He stands by the cradle, swaying gently from side to side, his flesh hand rubbing soothingly at Corey’s back while he dozes against Shiro’s chest, cheek resting on his shoulder. His hair tickles against Shiro’s neck but he doesn’t dare move him until he hears Corey’s breathing even out.

He gently lowers Corey to his cradle and only notices that Keith is leaning against the door, watching him when he turns to grab a blanket.

He’s been there for a while going by the look on his face. “Is he asleep?”

“Yeah.” Shiro murmurs, draping the blanket over Corey and making sure that the stuffed dinosaur he loves is within reach in case he needed to hug something in his sleep. He turns the baby monitor on for the last time, looks around the room to double check that everything else that could’ve been packed away is already in Corey’s bags and quietly pads over to the door.

Keith doesn’t move as he approaches, just watches him with a look that Shiro understands even before he speaks.

“You think so, huh?” He asks softly.

“I really think so.” Shiro replies, taking a step into his space. He cradles Keith’s face in his hands.

“But this thing here,” he says, tapping his left ring finger gently against  Keith’s cheek. “means that you come first. And that you’re enough, for the rest of our lives. Everything else that might come along is just a nice bonus.”

Keith sighs against his mouth when Shiro kisses him, slow and tender. His arms slowly slide around his waist and Shiro lets go of his face to wrap his around Keith’s neck.

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [redblackandwhiteallover](https://redblackandwhiteallover.tumblr.com)  
> And Twitter: [babybatbird](https://twitter.com/BabyBatBird)  
> I need more Sheith friends to talk to~


End file.
